Look To The Stars News: The Whaleman Foundation

Hayden Panettiere Blogs For The Whaleman Foundation

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Heroes star Hayden Panettiere has blogged about her conservation work with whales and dolphins.

“Anyone who knows me knows how much I love animals, and how passionate I am about protecting them,” she wrote on www.takepart.com. "When Jeff Pantukhoff, President & Founder of The Whaleman Foundation, approached me about being their spokesperson 5 years ago, I jumped at the opportunity.

“The Whaleman Foundation is a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to raise public awareness on the issues that affect cetaceans (dolphins, whales & porpoises) and their ocean habitats. When I heard about the plight of the dolphins and whales and the work that Jeff was doing, getting involved was a no-brainer for me.

“I have learned so much since becoming a part of the Foundation’s efforts, and have worked with him exclusively ever since.”

The actress goes on to write about her 2007 trip to Japan with Isabel Lucas in which they protested against the slaughter of dolphins.

“During our peaceful ceremony, the Japanese fisherman, unprovoked, became violent and physically aggressive towards us. After being hit with large poles and threatened with spinning boat propellers, which came inches from us, we held our ground. The resulting media attention generated by the incident was massive, and the support from people around the world has been incredible.

“I am aware this fight will not end overnight, but I am committed to seeing this battle through until the very end. There are many things you can do to help me protect the whales and dolphins but one of the best ways you can help us end their needless and cruel slaughter is to sign our petition on SocialVibe.com and while you’re there, please sign up to support The Whaleman Foundation. With your help, we can save these beautiful and intelligent creatures!”

To read the full blog, click here.

Stars Raise Cash In Celebrity Charity Smackdown

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

South by Southwest (SXSW, Inc.) is a private company based in Austin, Texas, dedicated to building and delivering conference and festival events for entertainment and related media industry professionals. Since 1987, SXSW has produced the internationally recognized Music and Media Conference & Festival and this year they’ve added a new twist.

SXSW, in conjunction with PayPay, have kicked off the first ever social-media smackdown and charity fundraiser at Mashable and Blurb’s SXSW Bash at Six Lounge in Austin.

Here’s how it works: PayPal has challenged nine celebrity teams to raise the most money for their chosen charities via social media sites and blogs. Fans can help by copying their favorite celebrity’s PayPal fundraising widget to their MySpace pages, Facebook page, or personal Web sites to encourage friends to donate.

The ‘Smackdown’ runs March 16-26, when PayPal will announce the winner and make an additional donation to the winning celebrity’s charity of choice.

Participating celebrities include Alec Baldwin, who is raising money for the Actors Fund of America.

“The Actors Fund is the pre-eminent organization for assisting all of my friends and colleagues in performing arts and entertainment around the country,” said Alec Baldwin, star of NBC television program “30 Rock.” “Most of those who work in this business are not stars – they’re working professionals who have no place else to turn when times are difficult. Please help them continue their vital work with your generous support.”

Also taking part are:

Corbin Bleu, benefiting Stand Up To Cancer.

“I am proudly supporting Stand Up to Cancer, because this organization is determined to bring an end to a disease that affects one out of every two men and one out of every three women,” said actor and recording artist, Corbin Bleu. “There are amazing causes in this Smackdown, but I hope I can put a spotlight on SU2C and its pledge to end cancer’s reign as a leading cause of death.”

Ernie Johnson, benefiting Samaritan’s Feet .

“I am honored to be the spokesperson for Samaritan’s Feet,” said Ernie Johnson, famous NBA reporter. “This organization demonstrates compassion to the poorest of the poor through servant leadership by washing their feet and telling them that they are loved. We are no different from them. We just happen to be born in the US and not a Third World country. I feel blessed and privileged to be the voice of these children who don’t have one.”

Kyle Petty, benefiting the Victory Junction Gang.

“Victory Junction is excited to participate in this charity challenge, which will raise awareness and funds for children with chronic medical conditions and serious illnesses,” said NASCAR driver Kyle Petty. “In these economic times, raising money is more important than ever, and we appreciate the fundraising opportunity PayPal, in partnership with Mashable, has given us to continue to deliver life-changing camping experiences.”

Other participating celebrities include Brea Grant for Girls Rock Camp Austin, Elevenmoms for Share Our Strength, Hayden Panettiere for The Whaleman Foundation, Linkin Park for Music for Relief, and Pete Cashmore for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. 

Donations can also be made directly on the Charity Smackdown homepage, where details about the celebrity teams and their causes will be showcased.

Hayden Panettiere Launches Widget To Save The Whales

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Back in October last year, Look To The Stars reported on an online petition launched by Heroes actress Hayden Panettiere and The Whaleman Foundation to help her stop the slaughter of whales and dolphins around the world. The petition has almost reached its goal of 1 million signitures, and Panettiere has blogged about a new widget you can use to help.

“A few months ago I announced our goal of getting 1,000,000 signatures for our petition to stop all commercial and lethal scientific research whaling in time for the June 2009 meeting of the International Whaling Commission,” the actress wrote on her MySpace page yesterday. "So far, we’ve done great and gotten over 90,000 signatures but with just a couple of months left, we really need to take this to the next level to reach our goal.

“That’s why I’ve worked closely with SocialVibe to design a really cool widget that allows anyone, anywhere, to just grab this widget and put it on their MySpace or Blog. It makes it so simple for your friends and family to sign on to our petition right where they see it.

“I can’t express in words how much this means to me… Iceland recently announced it was upping its quota from 40 whales a year to 250 whales a year including 150 endangered Fin Whales and 100 Minke Whales. Now, it’s more important than ever that we reach our 1 million signature goal, and let the world know that this needless slaughter has to stop.

“Please, sign and paste my widget on your pages, in bulletins, blogs, etc. The more people we have getting this out there, the more signatures we will be getting on a daily basis.

“I am also working with SocialVibe on a new Facebook application that will allow everyone to gather signatures there as well and I will let you know when know that is ready.

“Thanks so much for your support and be on the lookout for more updates from me soon. We can do this! All we have to do is spread the word and together, we can Save The Whales Again.”

To get the widget or sign the petition, click here.

Hayden Panettiere Launches Online Petition To Save Whales

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Hayden Panettiere wants you to help her stop the slaughter of whales and dolphins around the world through a new online petition.

This week marks the one year anniversary of Panettiere’s trip to Taiji, Japan, to protest the dolphin slaughtering which resulted in her arrest. Now she has launched an exclusive petition with The Whaleman Foundation on SocialVibe.com – with the hope of collecting 1 million signatures.

“As my one-year anniversary trip to Japan to save the whales nears, I have decided to go about things a little differently,” she says on a new YouTube video. "This time around, I need everyone’s help. I am trying to gather 1,000,000 signatures on SocialVibe.com for the exclusive Whaleman Foundation petition. The goal is to stop all commercial whaling and lethal scientific research whaling by Japan, Norway, Iceland, and to enforce the current global whaling moratorium. This petition will be taken to the June 2009 meeting of The International Whaling Commission, where the petition will be personally delivered by me!

“Please take 2 minutes of your day to go to SocialVibe.com, sign up, pick Whaleman Foundation as your cause, and add SocialVibe to your MySpace, Facebook, blog, etc.

“While there please sign the Whaleman petition. That’s it. Please pass this video along to your family and friends. If we help each other out, we can do this! Thank you SO much!”

Hayden Panettiere Votes To Save The Whales

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Actress Hayden Panettiere led hundreds of people in a rally to form a giant human pilot whale beside the message “VOTE” in front of the U.S. Capitol building yesterday, October 26.

The event commemorated the one-year anniversary of the actress’ protest in Taiji, Japan, where she joined Australian actress Isabel Lucas and other activists in a peaceful protest to raise awareness of the 25,000 dolphins slaughtered by the nation every year. The group narrowly avoided arrest over the incident, but succeeded in diverting international media to the abhorrent and barbaric practices used to butcher the animals.

“I turned 18 last year and I’m going to make my first vote count,” she said. “I am looking forward to my visit to Washington to talk to those who will be voting in the upcoming election, to stress the importance of knowing where the candidates stand on the issues that are most important to them, and to be sure that come November 4th, they will actually go out and vote to ensure that their voices are heard.”

Although the US has always been at the forefront of anti-whaling campaigns, its leadership on whale issues has significantly declined in recent years. The American appointed to be chairman of the International Whaling Commission – William Hogarth – has recently announced he is negotiating a deal that could allow for an IWC-sanctioned resumption of commercial whaling.

“The fact the U.S. is leading this process is outrageous!” said Jeff Pantukhoff, president and founder of The Whaleman Foundation and executive director of the Save The Whales Again campaign. “Recent polls show that over 75 percent of registered voters oppose whaling, and over two-thirds want our government to do something about it; yet to this point, the Bush administration has done little to stop the increasing slaughter and is now actively leading efforts that could result in a legalized return to commercial whaling.”

Yesterday’s event followed Panettiere’s appearance at American University on Saturday evening to talk with students at an event sponsored by the university’s Women and Politics Institute.

Get Your Hands On A Celebrity-Designed Chumby

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Fancy a new chumby personalized by one of your favorite stars?

For those of you unfamiliar with the wonderful world of the chumby, let us explain what they are. A chumby media player lets users select their favorite parts of the Internet and delivers them in a new kind of format. Over 1,000 widgets in 30 different categories – ranging from news and entertainment to videos, music, sports and more – are available from high profile media partners such as CBS, MTV Networks, MySpace, New York Times, Pandora, The Weather Channel Interactive, AOL’s SHOUTcast and Scripps Networks.

And now stars like Hayden Panettiere and Kim Kardashian have designed chumbies of their own for a new online charity auction. Along with Isabel Lucas, Survivor and Surreal Life star Jerri Manthey, actress Meredith Salenger, Carlos Alazraqui of Reno 911, and the bands Blind Melon and Duke Spirit, the stars have put their own personal touches to chumbies to benefit the Dream Foundation and The Whaleman Foundation.

“Chumby is all about personalization – from the design of the device itself to the content that plays on our interactive media players,” said Stephen Tomlin, CEO of chumby. “We are delighted to give fans the chance to bid on one-of-a-kind chumby players from their favorite celebrity.”

The auction – which runs until November 3 – can be accessed through eBay Giving Works.

Look To The Stars News: The Whaleman Foundation

Hayden Panettiere Blogs For The Whaleman Foundation

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